Athens. From Polis to Metropolis

Athens — is a city where the discoverer of Troy, Heinrich Schliemann, built himself a house and a mausoleum, where Mark Twain climbed to the Acropolis at night to admire the Parthenon in the moonlight, and Isadora Duncan danced ecstatically in the Theater of Dionysus — this city today is trying to find a worthy balance between preserving the past and striving for the future. Or, as Giorgio Ierano himself says, in the book he presents Athens as a city, «similar to a palimpsest: a manuscript that has been erased and rewritten several times».

 In his latest book, Giorgio Ierano dedicated it to Athens, explaining his interest in the ancient polis that has transformed into a modern metropolis: «We often travel with the baggage of prejudices and stereotypical images inherited over centuries of Western tradition, from the fantasies of neoclassicism to school textbooks. We are still attached to clichés and treat ancient monuments as eternal icons. Instead, my book attempts to insert them into its own dramatic and captivating story».

About the author
Giorgio Ierano teaches Greek literature at the University of Trento (Italy) and leads the research laboratory of ancient theater «Dionysus». An essayist and theatrical translator, he examines Greek mythology and ancient drama. Among his books are «Ariadne. The History of the Myth» (2010), «The Sea of Love. Eros, Storms, and Shipwrecks in Ancient Greece» (2019), «Helen and Penelope. Infidelity and Marriage» (2021).

Series «Genius Loci»
The book «Athens. From Polis to Metropolis» continues the cultural and historical series of the publishing house SLOVO/SLOVO, dedicated to cities and countries. The authors of these books are people whose lives and destinies are inextricably linked to the genius loci. They are cultural historians, journalists, sociologists, art historians, and other well-known specialists in the humanities, possessing the talent to tell complex stories in a simple and engaging way.